_ROVIDED. The aging of the US population, reductions in cardiovascular disease mortality and the extension of life among the oldest old all combine to raise the importance of issues in the care of the chronically ill and disabled. The shifting sands of health care policies from financing to delivery as well as the evolving paradigm of chronic disease management and long term care make it essential to have well trained researchers operating in academic, governmental and private research and policy settings who understand these issues and have the skill to design and interpret policy relevant studies applicable to these vulnerable populations. Under the direction of Vincent Mor, Ph.D., since 1987 the Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research has operated a highly productive training site for over 30 interdisciplinary investigators focused on the health and health care of the elderly and chronically ill. Of those who have finished their training 81% are in academic or full time research settings, 61% have been PI on grants (nearly 70 grants funded to them) and they have participated in over 400 peer reviewed publications. Graduates of the fellowship have made major contributions in numerous areas of health services research, with 7 individuals now holding senior faculty positions in Universities. The current proposal requests 3 post-doctoral fellowship positions per year for five years, mixed between physicians and Ph.D. investigators. The training program environment has been greatly enriched over the past five years with the creation of the Public Health Program, a consortium of research centers with a total of over $40 million in research funding per year, the development of an accredited analytically oriented MPH program and an approved, research oriented, geriatric fellowship training program designed to direct the best fellows to the AHRQ funded research training program.